Christine McGuinness has spoken about being a mother of autistic children, and how rude strangers question their disabilities.

Christine, who is married to Celebrity Juice's Paddy McGuinness, appeared on today's (April 19) BBC Breakfast to talk about her twins, Penelope and Leo, who were diagnosed with the condition in 2017.

Speaking on the topic of Blue Badges and parking spaces, she said: "Nine out of 10 times I'll be questioned on why I'm parked there, am I entitled to use that badge... and I've found myself having to calmly explain that actually my children are autistic and you might not be able to see it, but if I wasn't parked here we'd be in a different situation right now.

"(The kids are) not comfortable being approached by complete strangers so that makes it even worse. It's just so hard because this isn't something we want, it's something we need. It's not a golden ticket, I don't want to be using these spaces, I need it for the safety of my children.

"These are random people, the general public will ask, 'why are you parked in that space? Can I have a look at your Blue Badge?' It's so frustrating because, if I can, I'll park in a parent-child space, but then they're often taken up.

Photo credit: ITV

"(Disabled spaces are) a lot safer for the children. My children don't have much sense of danger at all when it comes to road safety, so they might freeze in the middle of the car park, or they might just run."